Written by

The team building the new Tappan Zee Bridge isn’t the only group that’s under pressure to meet deadlines.

The Tappan Zee Bridge mass transit task force must produce a report by the end of the year that not only recommends transit improvements for the region but also identifies ways to fund them.

Some members of the 31-person panel already are frustrated with its work after four meetings. Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, for example, said the group is “a little too big” and needs more focus.

“Get rid of the pie in the sky stuff because there is no money. How do we work within the existing infrastructure to do something realistic?” said Astorino, who has proposed improving existing Tappan ZEExpress bus service. “We need to focus on realistic goals now and start working with that, as opposed to 31 different opinions.”

Some other members say the panel has made progress and likely will produce a comprehensive report by year’s end.

“I’m remaining very optimistic and very positive that we will be able to complete our goal,” said Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, one of 16 members of the task force The Journal News interviewed in recent days.

The group’s fifth meeting is set for 9:30 a.m. April 26 at Crowne Plaza in Montebello. It is open to the public.

The Thruway Authority formed the mass transit panel last year after local county executives charged that the $3.9 billion plan to replace the Tappan Zee didn’t adequately address the need for mass transit. The plan includes a dedicated bus lane on the new span, but no improvements for Interstate 287. The group – made up of transit advocates, business leaders and local elected officials – has held four meetings since December. It now has less than a year to devise short-term and longer-term ideas to improve transit along the Tappan Zee and I-287.

So far, the group has seen presentations on the region’s commuting patterns — an increasing number of people travel during off-peak hours — and previous mass transit studies of the I-287 corridor. They also have discussed mass transit systems in other communities across the country.

(Page 2 of 2)

Though the panel hasn’t decided whether it will focus on a bus or rail system, many members have voiced support for an enhanced bus service, such as bus rapid transit. Bus rapid transit typically features a network of dedicated bus lanes and technology to control traffic signals and speed up trips. Nyack architect Jan Degenshein said he’s not ready to embrace one idea just yet.

“I’d like the options to be more broadly examined – all of them,” he said. “I expressed some interest in expanding commuter rail, but I am not close-minded.”

Thruway Executive Director Thomas Madison, the panel’s leader, said he is confident the group will have recommendations this year.

But Tarrytown Mayor Drew Fixell said “it’s hard to tell” whether it will be successful.

“The questions of financing — they will define sort of everything,” he said. “You have to confront the financing issue.”

Westchester County Legislator MaryJane Shimsky acknowledged it will “take a fair amount of effort and a fair amount of creativity” to find funding.

A finance subcommittee plans to explore ideas such as toll revenue from the new Tappan Zee, a special sales tax or state aid.

But it’s too soon to search for money without knowing what the system will include, argued Veronica Vanterpool, Tri-State Transportation Campaign executive director.

“I’m a little concerned that we haven’t identified what we want to push,” she said. “I’m not sure we are ready to tackle financing at the fifth meeting when we haven’t identified what we want to do.”

In addition to the official monthly meetings, Rockland members have been gathering in small groups to discuss transit in their communities. Nyack Mayor Jen White said they plan to put together a proposal specifically for Rockland.